The 18-year-old has been working his way through the ranks at the Saints’ famed academy in England over the past few years, and has now taken a big step forwards after securing a pro deal at the club.

Mdlalose, alongside side of his academy teammates, secured their futures at Southampton this month, but will continue to play for the club’s U18s and U23s for the time being.

Head coach, Mauricio Pellegrino, was on hand to congratulate the players as they took the next step in their careers, and they will be hoping that it is their first step towards Premier League stardom.

Academy Manager, Matt Hale, says that Mdlalose and his young teammates need to push on as they look to try and break into Pellegrino’s first team in the future.

Hale told the club’s official website, “It’s a proud day for them all. The key objective for a lot of these boys now, despite turning professional, is to be in that first under-18s teams at the beginning of August.

“If they are, or if they are older, then they need to make sure they are in that under-23s team when that season kicks off as well. That’s the next objective for these lads, and then they can see if they can get further on and in and around the manager’s plans with the first team squad, given an opportunity.”